Hutchinson says he stressed global market in talk with TrumpHOT SPRINGS — Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he stressed the importance of a global market to Arkansas' economy when he talked with President-elect Donald Trump to congratulate him on his surprise win in the election. The Republican governor told members of the Arkansas Farm Bureau on Wednesday that he talked with Trump a day earlier and said he told the incoming president that he would support the administration outside Washington. Hutchinson, a fo...

Arkansas agency begins drafting medical marijuana rulesLITTLE ROCK— Medical marijuana products sold in Arkansas would have to include detailed labels with information about their laboratory analysis, dosage, source and warnings under a draft of rules being prepared for the launch of the first medical pot program in the Bible Belt. The proposed rules, which the state Department of Health released Wednesday to The Associated Press, detail the process for patients to obtain registry cards for buying ...

Pine Bluff eyes plan for police department body camerasPINE BLUFF — City leaders in Pine Bluff are considering a budget proposal that includes body cameras for the city's police department. The Pine Bluff Safety Commission approved a budget request last week that included about $65,000 for the police department to purchase 45 body cameras. According to the Pine Bluff Commercial (http://bit.ly/2gCp4xw ), officers now wear lapel microphones but do not have body cameras. Police Chief Jeff Hubanks say...

About $26 million in funding announced for Arkansas projectsLITTLE ROCK — The Delta Regional Authority says nearly $26 million will be invested in Arkansas for projects aimed at driving economic growth and improving infrastructure. The authority announced the funding Monday alongside Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. The $26 million includes money awarded by the Delta Regional Authority and public and private funding sources. Officials say the projects will create or retain an estimated 650 jobs in the sta...

Arkansas man pleads guilty in fatal shooting of officerFORT SMITH — An Arkansas man was sentenced to life in prison without parole Tuesday after pleading guilty to capital murder in the fatal shooting of a sheriff's deputy earlier this year. Billy Monroe Jones also pleaded guilty Tuesday to 10 counts of attempted capital murder for opening fire on other law enforcement officers during the August incident in rural western Arkansas. Jones admitted fatally shooting Sebastian County Sheriff's Deputy B...

Baby unharmed after being ejected from car in Arkansas crashTEXARKANA— An infant is unharmed after she was thrown into a drainage ditch during a two-vehicle accident near Texarkana. Texarkana police say 8-month-old Bryce Hale was one of five people traveling in a car on Interstate 30 Friday night when a semitrailer hit the vehicle while changing lanes. The vehicle skidded before striking the median's guardrail. Police say Bryce was ejected from the vehicle's back window and landed beneath some metal ba...

Changes planned at Faulkner County jail following escapeCONWAY— Faulkner County Sheriff Matt Rice says changes will be made following the recent escape of an inmate, but have not yet been put in place. Rice told the Log Cabin Democrat (http://bit.ly/2gzfER3 ) that the Nov. 11 escape is still under investigation to determine "exactly what went wrong." Rice said 50-year-old William Chamlee escaped from a recreation yard by going through a hole in the fence and stealing a vehicle. Rice says Chamlee wa...

Arkansas House to consider committee selection rulesLITTLE ROCK — The speaker of the Arkansas House says changes will be considered to the rules for selecting committee members. The comments come after Democrats secured 11 of the 20 seats on the House Revenue and Taxation Committee, despite being the minority party and losing seats in the Nov. 8 election. Committee assignments are currently based on seniority and Republican Speaker Jeremy Gillam of Judsonia did not offer a specific proposal for...

Ash trees face extinction in Arkansas due to invasive beetleLITTLE ROCK — Forestry experts are hoping a stingerless type of wasp will help control an invasive beetle that's killing ash trees in Arkansas. The emerald ash borer, a native to Asia, feeds on the trees, eventually killing them. It's blamed for killing tens of millions of ash trees since being discovered in the U.S. in 2002. It was first found in Arkansas in 2014 and is now confirmed in a dozen counties in south-central and southern Arkansas ...

Little Rock police announce $20,000 reward in child's deathLITTLE ROCK — Little Rock police have announced a $20,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction for whoever fatally shot a 2-year-old girl earlier this week. Police announced Friday that an anonymous donor gave $10,000 for the reward, and the city of Little Rock matched that donation. Authorities say the girl was riding in a vehicle Tuesday night when she was struck by gunfire. The girl was taken to a Little Rock hospi...

Lawsuit filed against Fort Smith School Board in FOI disputeFORT SMITH— A lawsuit alleging violation of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act has been filed against the Fort Smith School Board. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/2gq8wGc ) that the lawsuit was filed in Sebastian County Circuit Court on Tuesday by attorney John McCutcheon on behalf of Fort Smith resident June Bradshaw. The lawsuit asks a judge to rule that emails board members circulated among themselves from Oct. 8-1...

Forestry officials to reopen trail after Arkansas wildfirePONCA — Forestry officials plan to reopen a popular hiking trail in the Arkansas Ozarks after a wildfire prompted its closure last week. U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman C.J. Norvell says the Hawksbill Crag Trail is expected to reopen Thursday. The trail — which leads to a scenic overlook that's one of the most photographed in Arkansas —was shut down because of a wildfire that began Nov. 12 about 13 miles south of Ponca. Forestry officials say ...

Rape lawsuit against University of Arkansas to proceedFAYETTEVILLE — A federal judge says a lawsuit alleging the University of Arkansas acted with deliberate indifference after a woman reported she was raped by another student will go forward. The lawsuit against the university was filed by a woman who told police and school officials that she'd been raped in her dorm in October 2014. The student told authorities that the encounter with the woman was consensual, and criminal charges were never fi...

Thanksgiving Day demands strain food banks in ArkansasLITTLE ROCK — An Arkansas food bank official says food banks often run short on food and donations during the holidays, a time when many low-income Arkansans families need assistance. The U.S. Department of Agriculture ranks Arkansas first in severe hunger and overall hunger, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported (http://bit.ly/2fJavV7 ). The National Foundation to End Senior Hunger ranks the state first in senior hunger and Feeding America r...

Arkansas governor: Move energy office, reduce boardsLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is proposing moving the state's energy office to the Department of Environmental Quality and reducing the number of committees that inspect local jails. Hutchinson told reporters Monday the changes will be part of a restructuring plan he'll submit to the Legislature during next year's session. He said moving the energy office, currently housed at the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, will help...

Arkansas lawmaker switches to Republican PartyLITTLE ROCK — An Arkansas state representative switched to the Republican Party on Tuesday, marking the second Democratic lawmaker to defect since the election in a move that will give House Republicans enough votes to pass most spending measures without any help from their rival party. Rep. David Hillman of Almyra said he had been considering the move before the Nov. 8 election, when Republicans expanded their majority in both chambers of the...

Enforcement of Arkansas anti-begging law prohibited by judgeLITTLE ROCK — A federal judge is prohibiting Arkansas from enforcing its anti-begging law. U.S. District Judge Billy Joe Wilson on Tuesday agreed with the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas that the law unconstitutionally restricts freedom of speech. Wilson wrote that regulating speech based on content must promote a compelling government interest and said banning all begging everywhere by everyone "does not come close to chinning this...

Placement of new Broadway Bridge's arch delayedLITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department said placement of the second and final arch on a new bridge connecting Little Rock and North Little Rock has been delayed. Explosives intended to remove one of the two remaining footings from the old Broadway Bridge were unsuccessful Monday, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2geccgK ). Part of the concrete structure remained intact and was too high to allo...

Delaware man charged in 1967 Arkansas slaying pleads guiltyA Delaware man charged in Arkansas in the nearly 50-year-old shooting death of a North Little Rock man pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree murder. Prosecutor Henry Boyce said James Leon Clay, 69, pleaded guilty in Jackson County Circuit Court to killing James Ricks, 27, in June 1967 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison as part of a plea agreement in which the charge was reduced from first-degree murder, which carried a potential life se...

O'Guinn named to Arkansas Public Service Commission postLITTLE ROCK — A 16-year veteran of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality has been named to the panel that regulates utilities in the state. Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday appointed Kimberly Lindsey O'Guinn to a six-year term on the Arkansas Public Service Commission, replacing outgoing Commissioner Lamar Davis. O'Guinn is Hutchinson's second appointment to the three-member commission since taking office last year. O'Guinn is a Little...